We had been promised an English shock, a battle of the treacherous Albion for a European title and a ticket for the Champions League. We were treated to a summit of technical poverty, a duel of evil classified (16th against the 17th of the Premier League!) Which has long hurt the eyes. But at the end of the boredom and an often tasteless match in Bilbao, it was Tottenham who exulted. A victory (1-0) torn from forceps against Manchester United, thanks to an improbable goal from Brennan Johnson, who ends 17 years of scarcity and returns the Spurs in C1. The way? Forgotten. Only the result counts, right?
A gag goal for a misery final?
The first act was a long ordeal for the esthetes of football. Technical faults with shovel, missed passes, little rhythm, even fewer opportunities. A purge. Then, as often in these closed matches where the fear of losing paralyzes, the light (or rather the lucky spark) came from nothing. On a center of the former Messin Pape Matar Sarr, Brennan Johnson, at the cost of a incredible scraper – a poorly executed cover, a balloon at the torso of a defender, who returns to him miraculously in his feet – managed to push the leather from the end of the shoe between the post and an André Onana Medusé (42nd). A cap goal, a real one, but a goal that was worth gold and sent Tottenham to the locker room with an unexpected advantage.
Concrete and revenge of the Postcoglou “clown”
With this little miracle, Tottenham was no longer going to try to produce the slightest game in the second half. One hundred and fifteen small passes on the whole meeting: the statistic is fame but perfectly illustrates the partition played by the men of Ange Postcoglou. Lock behind, wait, and pray. A minimalist, ultra-defensive, but devilishly effective strategy. The Australian coach, described as “clown” by certain observers before the final and taken in flu by the press, can savor his revenge. He succeeded where much more renowned technicians like Mourinho, Conte or Pochettino had failed: bringing a trophy back in the wardrobe of the Spurs. The end justifies the means, especially after such a long wait.
Tottenham's pragmatism triumphs over the helplessness of Man Utd (1-0)
Manchester United, dominating is not winning
Because opposite, Manchester United may have monopolized the ball, push, try, the Red Devils collided with a white wall and their own helplessness. The Rúben Amorim team, terribly sterile, will have waited for the 68th minute to create its first real opportunity: a head of Højlund, following a failed exit from Vicario, saved in extremis on its line of Van de Ven. Captain Bruno Fernandes, with an unpacked head (73rd), then Garnacho, of a dry strike out (75th), will have the equalization balls. But they were the only three serious alerts. Too little to hope to overthrow a curled but determined Tottenham team.
Tottenham exults, Manchester cries
At the final whistle, the indescribable joy of the spurs contrasted with the reduction of the Mancunians. Tottenham finally holds his trophy, his third coronation in the UEFA Cup/Europa League after 1972 and 1984, and found the Champions League by the Great Door. Heung-min sound, who came into play to defend this precious advantage, can finally raise a cup after nine years of good and loyal service. For Manchester United, on the other hand, the season ends in Bérézina: no major title and no European qualification. This final will not remain in memories for the quality of her football, but she will have devoted the triumph of pragmatism and offered a historical deliverance to an entire people.
